The Legacy of War

1. The Legacy of War • As mentioned, the first world war was labelled “the war to end all wars” • Over the next two decades we saw that this was not going to be the case • Hostilities of WWI ended officially with the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918 • Armistice is signed as a means to get all parties to meet and discuss “peace” • November 11 = Armistice Day • Peace was discussed in Paris (Paris Peace Conference), with the victors setting the terms • Goal: Design a system so to prevent any future wars…

2. Building the Peace • January 1918, President Woodrow Wilson (USA) released a document that was known as the Fourteen Points • Document originally was presented as a means to convince Americans that sacrifices made in the name of the war effort were justified • The points were also presented to the Europeans @ Paris, stating that the points could be the basis for lasting peace • The points fell into two categories, Group One and Group Two…

3. 14 Points: Group One • Points one through five dealt with how people should work together: • Known as internationalism, would require countries to put aside selfish feelings (nationalism), and for ethnic groups to be allowed to create countries upon their nationalist desires (self-determination)

4. 14 Points: Group Two • Points six through eight refer to the way in which the German conquered lands should be dealt with • Who would get what • Points nine through fourteen refer to ethnic desires of the people living in Eastern and Central Europe • This section would give the Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, and Poles a homeland • Wilson recognized that these people needed a homeland, a needed part of the process to prevent future conflicts • Austro-Hungary should cease to exist

5. The Paris Peace Conference • The Treaty of Versailles • Viewed as one of the most important international agreements of 20th century • Representatives from the Allied Powers (GB/FRA/CAN/USA) met in early 1919 with the defeated countries (GER & AUST-HUNGARY) in Paris • Task was tremendously difficult – needed to ensure that the possibility of any future conflicts would not occur. • There were differing ideas as to how this should happen…

6. Realism vs Idealism British Prime Minister David Lloyd George fell in the middle. GB wanted revenge also, wanted Germany to pay reparations(fee for the war costs = 132 Gold Marks… ended up being 20 million GM = $5 Billion USD) GB wanted to be a trade partner with Germany • Realists: felt that Germany should be dealt with very harshly so that they would not be physically able to go to war • Peace should be based on honourable principles • French PM George Clemenceau was the lead realist • Made sense, as France was located next door to Germany, had a desire for revenge • Idealists: felt that punishing Germany would cause them to become bitter and seek revenge • President Wilson was an idealist, led this side of the argument @ Paris

7. Two very important ideas emerged • Self-determination: • Ethnic groups could vote for where they would prefer to live with/be governed by • Difficult to applyas it was a challenge to find homelands for all these people • What came of this: • Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were created • Wilson did not expect that the German people would have right to self-determination& numerous other groups did not get a homeland and were forced into situations • Over time, unfulfilled promises lead to further conflict

8. The 2nd Idea… • The War Guilt Clause: • Germany alone was forced to accept all responsibility for causing the war • Allied forces used this as a means to justify the punishments placed on Germany • Germans didn’t agree with this so… • German people protested • Chancellor resigned • German sailors scuttled (sank) the fleet so it would not fall into hands of allies • Protests didn’t work, Germany was forced to sign • If they didn’t allies would start up hostilities again

9. Summary of Versailles War guilt clause Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France Poland was given a strip of land – Polish corridor – to give them access to the sea, this was formally German Germany and her allies were forced to surrender their colonies to the league of nations German army was limited to 100,000 men; their navy & air force were also restricted Germany was forced to surrender their merchant marine fleet as compensation for allied shipping losses The west bank of the Rhine River Valley (borders France & Germany) was to be demilitarized The allies were to occupy this land for the next 15 years . The Rhineland was still German, just no military instalments A buffer zone was created Austria and Germany were forbidden to unite Constitution of the League of Nations was to be included as a part of the treaty

10. Failures of Versailles • Had numerous short comings that fueled WWII • Groups without a homeland (nationalism = cause of war) • Germany crippled by Treaty • Germans were angry that they were blamed for war and that they had to pay penalties for “starting” the war (who was it?) • Were not ready to accept the humiliationwanted revenge • Adolph Hitler used this to gain power…

11. Effects of the War I • International: • a) while there was 10 million casualties due to battle involvement, there was an additional 20 million casualties on top of that (collateral damage) • this does not include those that were victims of DISLOCATION; Russia,untold millions died as a result of starvation due to the Interruption in production and distribution of food • b) the war cost $200 billion leaving most of Europe bankrupt • In today’s $$ that would be into the trillions • c) the Ottoman Empire was gone • d) the A/H empire disintegrated, turning into Czechoslovakia & Yugoslavia as well as a larger Romania and Bulgaria • e) Poland emerged as an independent nation  formally under Russian & German control • f) Three countries ruled by kings (Germany, A/H, & Turkey) were replaced with democracies, Russia became the world’s first communist country • g) Versailles resulted in the Germany being forced to pay and take blame for the war • h) many Europeans had their homelands located elsewhere

12. Effects of the War II Effects on Canada: • -the nation came to maturity; business, government, & militarily • -no longer being viewed as belonging to Great Britain; the process of British independence had begun • a) separate seat in Versailles, which then lead to the League of Nations, and then the United Nations • b) women gained recognition as workers in fields traditionally held by men, they also gained the vote • c) troops received world recognition for their successes at Vimy and Passchendaele • d) following WWI Canadian population grew due to immigration • e) Canada had significant economic growth during & after the war • f) war cost Canada $3 Billion, the national debt was at $150 million per year for the next 4 years • g) income tax continued • h) 60,000 Canadians were killed, 178,000 injured • i) conscription deepened issues/difficulties between the French and English

13. The Changing Map of Europe • Paris Peace Conference caused the entire map of Europe to change • Changes were fuelled by: • Self-determination • Territories gained through conquest should be returned • The Allies decided who got what (i.e. Alsace-Lorraine) • Ignored German requests re: Polish Corridor/access to sea • Czechoslovakia created, contained 2.5 million Germans

14. The New Map of Europe (P62)